Youngster beats Cy Young winner

Before the weekend started, I knew the Cleveland series would be a tough one. The Rangers were sending Gabbard, Feldman and Mathis to the mound to face Carmona, Lee and Sabathia - arguably one of the toughest trio of pitchers on any team. Two of the three Rangers starters began the season in the minors. Less than three months ago, Feldman was still a reliever.

Given all of that, if you'd told me one of the Rangers pitchers would hold the Indians to just one run, I probably would not have guessed it would be Mathis. The young righty has had a tough time acclamating to the majors, but today, he made adjustments and he made them fast. The lone Indians run on his line came in the first inning. After that, Mathis held them in check despite getting little run support from the Rangers offense.

Of course, a big piece of the Rangers' offensive puzzle was absent most of the game. Josh Hamilton was ejected early when the home plate umpire believed he was arguing balls and strikes. You don't have to be watching too closely to see that Hamilton was not arguing balls and strikes but rather showing the third base umpire that he checked his swing on strike three. He and the third base umpire exchanged explanations and Hamilton was on his way back to the dugout when he was ejected. Ridiculous. I guess the triple crown will have to come another day.

I enjoyed Tom Grieve's rant. This is two in a season so far. Go Tom!!! Hopefully Victor Rojas can adequately take over in a few weeks when Grieve undergoes prostate surgery. Thoughts and prayers for Tom's quick recovery. And also, as an annual volunteer for the American Cancer Society, I thank him for speaking publicly about his diagnosis. People, in general, are not always willing to discuss health problems, and men, particularly, tend to shy away from medical and health issues. But the best way to beat cancer is to find it early, which can only happen if people talk about it and learn what to look for.

PSA over. Back to baseball.

Just a few more thoughts.

...that Indians error in the top of the 10th. Whew. Thank goodness it was them and not us.
...C.J. Wilson is still a drama king. He can't ever just close things out quick and easy.
...Jamey Wright is on the cusp of being in my good graces. I want to like him, but he's done so much bad in the past, it's hard to forgive him.
...I agree with Tom Grieve that this was one of the team's best wins of the year. What a great series!

KISS: This is a collective award for the Rangers pitchers. Mathis held his own against last year's Cy Young winner and kept the Indians to one run on seven hits and three walks. That first inning was a bit rough, but he settled down and got ground ball outs when he needed them most. Francisco, Wright and Wilson combined for two hits, three walks and four strikeouts as they held the Indians scorelss in the final four innings of the game.

MISS: I was gonna say Murph, who was 0 for 4 with a strikeout. But then he had that great catch. I was gonna say Salty, who was 0 for 3 with two Ks and a throwing error, but then he earned a walk in the top of the 10th and scored the winning run. Ahh...so I just don't know.

I get to watch a double-header of Rangers action tomorrow. Half-live and half-televised. I'll be taking in a matinee of Redhawks vs. Iowa Cubs, and hoping the Redhawks can salvage a split of the series. They fell 9-2 today, and the pitching stats are just ugly. Maeda is the only pitcher who didn't give up a run, and he only pitched one-third of an inning. Nippert gave up four, Rowe gave up two and Madrigal gave up three. Ick. The Redhawks offense didn't do much to help their case, with just five hits. Let's hope they fare better tomorrow.

Barring extra innings, I'll be home in time to watch the Rangers and Rays. It's going to be a tough series, but the way this team is playing lately, I don't think we need to lay down and expect to be swept just yet. Call me crazy, but I have faith in my Rangers. Especially coming off a series win in Cleveland. They have not lost a series in the last nine, and as long as they can keep this up, this could be a very interesting season.